Taste of Copper
by FidgetGlitterBlossom
Summary: AU/modern/real world Cedfia. A loner musician has a chance meeting with the girl of his dreams. Age gap. Slow burn.
1. Chapter 1

Every once in a while, I get these little bursts of modern/real world Cedfia and jot them down. So I decided to finally put them into a collection. It's not really enough to make a proper story out of, though they do all exist in the same timeline.

* * *

He spotted her in the line ahead of him, shining russet locks cascading in thick, loose tendrils down the back of a faded band teeshirt. His band. He sauntered up behind her, bending to speak directly into her ear, so she would hear him over the whir of the industrial machines behind the counter.

"You like the Dark Arcana?" He quizzed, and she peeked over her shoulder at him first.

Once she saw who was speaking to her she spun around, grinning widely, and he very nearly went breathless at the sight of her sparkling turquoise eyes as the curtain of penny-coloured lashes fluttered open wide.

"It's you!" She gushed with a musical voice that would force angels to blush in shame. "I can't believe it! I've been to a ton of your shows." He bobbed his head humbly, embarrassed at her overwhelming enthusiasm.

"Really?" He asked in surprise, having half-expected to hear that she was simply borrowing the shirt from someone else, or perhaps had picked it up at a thrift store, thinking it made her look trendy. "You know, we always go out front after the show. Stop by next time, say hey."

"I will, seriously." She ducked coquettishly, a pleasing glow overtaking her cheeks at his attention. "I-I think you're amazing." Oh, to be so straight-forward. Even his mild successes had not gifted him with the confidence that she must possess to boldly state such a thing to a total stranger.

"Miss, your mint mocha is ready." The barista interrupted, holding out a small green cup toward them. She accepted it with impeccable manners, then flashed him another smile.

"I, um... I have to get going." She appeared every bit as disappointed as he felt, her eyes flashing quickly toward the glass door and then back to meet his gaze. "I really will come talk to you, though. If you're not bothered, of course."

"Bothered?" He chuckled, ignoring the line forming behind him and the woman trying impatiently to take his order because it felt vital to keep talking to this beauty for even a minute longer. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Me, too... I have to go." She repeated, still not taking a step away from the counter.

"Excuse me, are you going to order something?" The brunette behind the counter demanded loudly. He held up a dismissive hand and slipped out of the line.

"You already said that, you know?" He teased, an easy half-smirk ghosting across his face as she flushed all over again.

"Did I?" She asked absently. He nodded and she twittered nervously. "I suppose so. It's just, I'll be late for school." He furrowed his brow, just now taking into account how young the girl looked.

"How old are you?" She cast her eyes downward, avoiding his questioning gaze. A clear sign that whatever number she offered was not to be trusted.

"Sixteen?" The upward inflection made it sound more like a question than an answer.

"Lying doesn't suit you." He slid a sharpie out of his front pocket and held his hand out. "Lemme see your cup." She raised an eyebrow at him, but handed it over all the same.

Hastily, he scribbled a note for her and handed it back, watching as she skimmed over it.

 _Don't be in such a hurry to grow up, Princess._

"You have to go." He reminded her when she opened her mouth to respond, and she flustered, flickering her eyes, the bright jewels he was sure he'd be imagining for the rest of the day, to the clock behind the counter.

With a small gasp, she dashed off in the direction of the exit, pausing to turn and wave back at him as he rejoined the back of the line. He pointedly ignored the small tug at his heart as she disappeared into the outside world.

"Are you actually buying something this time?" He brushed his faux silver bangs out of his eyes and ordered himself a bottle of cold beer. While he waited for it, he deflated against the smooth, cool stone counter. _She's too young for me. Just my luck..._


	2. Chapter 2

So in case it isn't obvious, Cedric's bike is a modern/real world stand in for his flying machine. There is usually a good reason I put things in, promise.

 _The moment's sweet but it's all wrong_  
 _And we're pictures of decency when we wave goodbye outside_  
 _We're pictures of decency when we wave goodbye outside_  
 _Yeah, I'm the model of composure out there_  
 _But you oughta see me shaking later on_

 _~ Alpha in Taurus, Mountain Goats_

* * *

He wasn't paying attention to the road. His mind was a million miles away, in another town, with a girl. The one he was mad at some months ago, when he impulsively up and left for small town hell. The sound of his motorbike as it sped down the old roads was hypnotic, lulling him into believing that it was okay for his thoughts to wander for just a minute, just long enough to see the one sided argument he was having with her in his head through to the end.

He never saw the pot hole coming, but fortunately he managed to maneuver the bike just well enough to keep himself from flying straight off the front end when he hit the obstacle hard. He was alive, and relatively uninjured. It could have been much worse, especially since he hadn't bothered with a helmet. He stood in bewildered silence, staring at his bike as his pulse slowed to something resembling human speed. When the shock wore off, he switched to anger.

He kicked the mangled front tire. "Fuck!" He shouted so loud that the crows in the field beside the road cawed out furious protests as they lifted into the cloudless sky above.

Then, as if he needed another reminder that he had the absolute worst luck of anyone on the planet, she emerged from somewhere behind the tall stalks of wheat, her long curls bouncing behind her as she hurried to his aid. She looked even better in her white tank and cut-offs than she had that day in the coffee shop, and when she breezed past him, he could smell the metallic earthy scent that came from hours spent outdoors under the early summer sun.

"Oh, no!" She cried out, bending to examine the damage, dropping the beat-up frisbee she'd been carrying onto the road so she could try to right the machine. "Are you alright?" She glanced up, her eyes sweeping over him in genuine concern, and he resisted the urge to unleash a fresh torrent of curses, not at her, obviously, but at the absurdity of it all.

"I'm fine." He bit curtly. _Except my bike is wrecked, and I hate this town, and if there was a god, you'd be about ten years older._

He slipped his phone out of his pocket, thankful that at least the rugged case had done it's job in protecting the fragile electronic held within. Flicking the screen on, he noted with ever growing annoyance that there was no signal. He trudged up and down the stretch of torn up pavement, held it higher, lower... Nothing made a difference.

"Those don't work out here." She bubbled, catching up to him easily.

"You don't say..." He groused, though the sight of the wide grin she gifted him with calmed him for reasons he couldn't really explain, or maybe he just wasn't comfortable with trying to.

"The nearest tower is all the way back in town." She explained. Her hand gripped his, and he followed reluctantly as she dragged him back to the bike. "I'll give you a hand."

"So, Princess..." He began, stopping to grunt as they righted the motorbike. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"That's my house over there." He turned his attention to the direction she indicated, finding the blue farm house in the distance. The only house in sight as far as he could see in any direction.

"Right. Why wouldn't it be?" He muttered, ignoring the 'hm?' she let out when she didn't quite hear him. "You can let go, now. I've got it."

"We have a phone you can use, if you need." She offered, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she shifted from one foot to another.

"You have a landline?" He almost laughed, not just at the bitter irony of this particular girl being here and offering exactly what he needed, but also because he didn't know a single person who actually had a home phone these days.

"My dad's work phone. It's in the garage." She shrugged, retrieving the frisbee as he struggled to move the bike to the side of the road by himself. "He uses it when he's working at home."

"Yeah? What's he do?" Cedric questioned distractedly, only half listening. She cocked her head, the amusement on her adorable features making him wonder if he'd missed something.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She laughed at a joke he wasn't in on. "You'll see when we get there. Sure you don't need help?"

"Sofia!" The cry proceeded the boy who parted the wheat to join them.

He was blonde, tan, and shirtless, with dark denim shorts that hung past his knees. An all American boy. Cedric hoped his eye-roll wasn't too obvious as this kid came up behind the redhead and wrapped his arms around her waist, raising her into the air and spinning around, which elicited a surprised squeal from her.

"I win!" The kid declared victoriously, setting her back down on her bare feet.

"I'm not playing, James." She gestured to Cedric, who stood as awkward witness to the scene. "This is Cedric, the guy I told you about. He crashed his bike."

"My bad." The boy nodded towards him, and he returned the gesture. "I can give you a hand if you want. My dad's taught me plenty about repairs."

Great, so the princess had a boyfriend. One that was annoyingly helpful and good looking. Not that he should care, he tried to remind himself as he discreetly sized the teenager up.

"I'm good. I'll just use the phone, then be on my way." James shrugged, taking the frisbee from Sofia's hand.

"Kay, I'm gonna head back out, then." Sofia waved as he disappeared, then turned her energy back to the stranded musician.

"Really, it'll go a lot faster if I help." She persisted, and he finally let out a sigh of defeat.

"Yeah, fine." Together they towed the bike to the side of the road so it would be out of the way on the off chance that anyone else should drive by, though Cedric severely doubted that would happen.

"Your boyfriend seems... nice." Cedric stated, trying to keep the misplaced disappointment from his tone, as they hiked toward the house.

"Boyfriend?" She stopped in her tracks, blinking up at him in confusion. "You don't mean James?" He was not relieved by her reaction. He had no business whatsoever caring whether she was or wasn't dating the boy from earlier.

"I just assumed-" Sofia shook her head, her pert nose wrinkling in distaste.

"James is my brother." She explained, stifling a giggle at whatever expression he was making. They spent the rest of the walk in silence.

"Dad!" She cried out, scrambling up the walk and racing over the concrete steps. The screen door slammed shut behind her, and Cedric checked the pockets of his rough jeans for his pack of Lucky Strikes, shaking one out and turning away from the house to block the wind as he lit it.

"Sofia tells me you could use a hand." He spun back in time to see what he assumed was the girl's father leaning over the porch railing to speak to him.

"I hit a pot hole on my bike. I'm kind of stranded until I get it fixed." He rehashed the ordeal as plainly and quickly as possible. The older man nodded slowly, pondering this.

"I should be able to fix it for you." He came down the steps, holding his hand out to Cedric, who shook it politely. "Tell you what, I'll even do it on the house. Just this once."

"I appreciate it." It was the truth. He had no idea how he would get back on the road without the assistance, and he was due at band practice later in the afternoon.

They returned to the motorbike, and her dad whistled as he looked it over. "Wow, that's a beauty!" For the first time since his accident, Cedric smiled.

"She's custom." He bragged as the older man bent to check the damage.

"Sure is. Must have cost you a fortune." He held out his hand, and Cedric accepted.

"Not really, I did most of the work myself." He answered proudly. It was a labour of love, but the bike had returned the favor by taking him hundreds of miles away from his troubles, even if he did somehow manage to find new ones wherever he went.

"Did you, now?" He seemed too refined to be one of the locals, Cedric noticed as they lugged the bike back together. He chuckled as the garage door opened, finally understanding what was so funny earlier.

"A repair shop?" Cedric breathed in disbelief, admiring the expensive equipment.

"King's Auto Repair. This is just the hobby stuff, actually." He rested the bike against the garage wall. "My real shop's in town."

Cedric checked out some of the equipment while he waited for a professional opinion. He'd give his right arm to be able to afford the tech this man had just written off so easily.

"I've been calling about getting that hole fixed for over a year." He griped, flashing an apologetic smile at Cedric. "This is going to take me maybe... An hour. Why don't you go inside, help yourself to a beer."

 _Because your daughter's in there._ As much as he didn't want to see her again, perhaps ever, the offer tempted him. It was hot out, he was having a bad day, and a cold beer sounded like exactly how he wanted to wait out the tire repair.

"Sure, thanks." When he reached the front door, he could hear her inside, singing one of old his songs.

 _You scare me shitless_

 _Eye to_ _eye, we need no words at all_

 _You leave me breathless_

 _But you're too good for me, too good for me_

He stood frozen on the porch, listening through the mesh of the screen door to the sound of her soft soprano, coupled with notes from an out of tune guitar. She hit the wrong chord, and he swung the light door open.

"It's an E2." He pointed out, meandering his way behind where she sat perched on the coffee table. She jerked in surprise, and when she peeked over at him her face was practically glowing red.

"What is?" He motioned for the guitar and she pulled the wide band over her head and handed it to him.

"Like this..." He played the chorus again, though her intense staring made it difficult to concentrate. "See, this is where you were supposed to play an E2."

He handed the instrument back to her, but cringed when she again played it wrong.

"No, no, you have to hold your pinky on the bottom string there." Sliding onto the table beside her, he reached out and positioned her fingers properly. "There, now try."

Those sparkling, damning turquoise eyes met his as her face tilted upwards toward him, the girl hanging on his every word. He wanted to lean in, to claim her plump, peachy lips as his. She drew him in like a magnet, this girl. Thankfully, the moment ended before he could do anything entirely stupid. She tucked her chin to focus on the guitar, strumming the chord correctly, and he made it a point to stand up.

"Your dad offered me a beer." He excused his presence in the house, feeling it necessary to change the subject.

"Oh, I'll get it for you." Before he could tell her not to, and ask directions to the kitchen, she set down the guitar and hurried out of the room.

 _You scare me shitless._ Never had those words felt truer, even when he had first scribbled them down on a half torn-out page of his beaten up pocket spiral notebook, back when he was probably just a little older than her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** So I lied a little. I didn't intend for these to be chronological, or to all string together neatly, but now I'm catching myself writing little filler chapters to (loosely) string them together, so there's that... Their exact ages get revealed in the next few chapters. Honestly the age gap is less than in some of my other stories, but since it's modern day (and American, I think.) standards, it's still a big deal.

 _I want to say I'm sorry, for the stuff I haven't done yet._

 _Things will shortly get completely out of hand_

 _But I will walk down to the end with you_

 _If you will come all the way down with me_

 _~ Old College Try by the Mountain Goats_

* * *

Cedric wiped his filthy hands on the worn rag as his eyes swept over Sofia, half tempted to send the girl away. She looked so pleased with herself as she held out the glass of lemonade that it was hard not to appreciate the gesture.

"Thanks, princess." He mumbled, accepting the ice cold drink. "I suppose it was about time for a break, anyways." They ambled down the gravel driveway, turning at the walk to climb the grey steps, where they both sat down. Her bare upper arm brushed against his, and he tried to ignore the tingle it elicited in the flesh that covered the spot as he drank the overly sweet beverage, listening to the ice clink against the glass.

"How much sugar did you put in here?" He complained, but she wasn't bothered by the criticism.

She opened her mouth to answer, but their attention was diverted by the approach of Roland's old Cadillac Castilian. The tires sent small stones spitting in all directions as it turned into the drive, and her father turned the engine off, climbing out to greet them.

"Are you done with that Delta, Cedric?" He called over, and Cedric suppressed the urge to argue that he had literally just sat down.

He'd been working for Roland for a few months now, and on a personal level they got along well enough, he supposed, save for the fact that he made Cedric inexplicably nervous - a situation not at all helped by Sofia's near constant visits to the garage. But when it came to work, the man could be rather unreasonable, and was constantly nagging at Cedric whenever he suspected him of 'slacking off'.

"He was just working on it, Dad." Sofia supplied for him, and silently he thanked her. "It's too hot in the garage, so I made him take a break." Roland frowned in the direction of the workspace, but finally relented. Cedric had noticed over the brief time he knew them that the older man struggled to refuse Sofia anything.

"Alright. But I expect it done by the end of the day." Cedric nodded, and Roland climbed the steps beside his daughter, mumbling excitedly about getting himself a lemonade.

"Yes, _sir_..." Sofia whispered sarcastically after the screen clattered closed, and Cedric nudged her to keep her quiet, afraid her father was still close enough to the front door to overhear.

He downed the rest of his lemonade with a gurn while Sofia languidly sipped away at hers. She took the empty glasses inside and he leaned back against the step behind him, fishing out his cigarettes and fighting with his lighter until he managed to get one lit.

"Let's go to the creek!" Sofia bubbled as she came back outside, flopping down next to him. He eyed her warily, wondering if she had somehow missed the fact that he had work to do.

"If I don't get that Delta running, your dad'll have my head." He reminded her, but Sofia just rolled her eyes as she claimed his free hand, tugging him to his feet.

"You have all day for that! It's barely past lunch time." She whinged, and for some reason he allowed her to lead him back behind the house. "Come on, it'll be fun!" She grinned back at him over her shoulder, though there was no real purpose in trying to persuade him now that he was already following her lead.

...

They came to the wooded bank of the creek, well beyond the wide grassy field that stretched behind her house. In fact, he realized as he looked back, he couldn't even see her house anymore.

"Is all of this land your dad's?" Sofia glanced around, too, and he realized that she simply took for granted that she had so much space to wander during her carefree summer days.

"Most of it, I think..." She answered with a slight shrug. Before he had a chance to catch on to what she was doing, before he could convince her not to, she lifted the hem of her shirt and tugged it over her head in one quick, fluid movement.

He knew he shouldn't look, that the image would only torment him later, but his eyes memorized the pale expanse of her flat stomach and the mounds that spilled over the moulded striped cups for the moment that she stood there in her bra and shorts, before she turned and took a running jump into the murky green water, drawing her legs up as she plummeted to cause the biggest impact possible. She could have mentioned that she wanted to come here for a swim. He wished she might have planned ahead and changed into a proper bathing suit, though he supposed she had more fabric on than some of the bikinis he'd seen at public pools back home.

She resurfaced and stared up at him expectantly.

"Cedric!" She called out impatiently when he didn't move. "What are you waiting for?"

Brought back to reality, he motioned for her to turn around, and she rolled her eyes but complied. _This is insane. I should just turn around and go back._ Instead, he stripped down to his boxers and jumped in after her, a wave of relief hitting him as the water cooled his overheated body, a welcomed change from the late summer heat.

Sofia clasped her hands together and slid them through the surface of the water, sending a large splash in his direction and giggling as he shook his shaggy hair out. His heart fluttered as she peeked at him through her thick copper lashes, and he reached over and dunked her head under just so he could have a break from her unbearably adorable face. _This girl is going to be the death of me._

Beneath the surface, she hurled herself into his chest, knocking him back until he was submerged with her, and he stared at her through the water as she tried to hold her breath instead of bursting out laughing. She looked so beautiful, with her darkened fiery hair floating around to frame her face, and her eyes dancing with amusement. She was everything he'd ever wanted, and she was right there within his grasp.

He was an idiot. He was an idiot and this was a huge mistake and he was painfully aware of the fact even as he wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her in to kiss her as best as he could without drowning them both. Fate had another idea, though, as she was taken so off-guard by his advance that she let out her held breath before their lips touched, and he had to release her so she could go up for air.

He closed his eyes, hating himself for what he'd very nearly done, and for startling the girl, then kicked up after her. He wouldn't mention anything. Maybe she had no idea of what had come so close to happening. Besides, talking about it would make it real, and he would much rather pretend it had been just his imagination.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** I owed Sofia a chapter. She's fun to write in this, because she's still young enough to do childish things but she's also burdened with these new, grown up feelings.

I'm going to be busy this weekend, so I won't be writing new chapters, but I'm _pretty sure_ this story has enough written that it won't be interrupted.

* * *

Sofia woke bright and early and threw on her clothes, pausing in front of the mirror to pull her thick mess of curls into a passable high ponytail. Then she went running down the stairs and straight out the back door to arrive at the garage. Except that when she got there, the door was shut and there was no one inside. Not one to give up too easily, she made her way to the porch and sat on the concrete steps, waiting anxiously for the familiar sound of a motorbike to disrupt the stillness.

She supposed it was just her imagination, what happened at the creek the day before. They were roughhousing and splashing, and then suddenly he'd looked so serious, and he was leaning in closer. She really, really believed he would kiss her. But after she ran out of air and resurfaced, partly because the sudden grip of his big hands on her waist made her gasp, he never gave any other indication that he was interested in such things. In fact, the rest of the afternoon had gone by with a normality that felt stark in comparison to that fleeting moment.

 _Wishful thinking..._ She drew her legs up to her chest and hugged them, her eyes scanning the spot where the road met the sky, looking for any sign of the man. She'd been trying to catch his attention all summer, so it made perfect sense that her mind would play such a dirty trick on her, but it was still disappointing. For all her attempts, all her time spent hanging around the garage, or begging him for guitar tips in the quiet hopes that he would sit with her like he had that first time, he hardly even looked at her most days.

Turning her focus back to the yard in front of her, she spied a patch of dandelion puffs and stood, jumping from the top step onto the walk. She picked one of the white, fluffy flowers and held it up to her lips. _I wish Cedric would love me._ With that, she closed her eyes and blew on the flower with all her might, scattering the seeds on the wind.

Another quick glance down the road, and she decided to go in and get some breakfast, since he was obviously running late today.

"Morning, James." She greeted her brother when she spotted him sitting at the table, already halfway through a bowl of cereal. He muttered a similar statement through a full mouth as she took her own bowl down from the cupboard and filled it with Lucky Charms and some of the milk her brother had left on the counter.

"Cedric's not here today?" He asked from behind. Sofia capped the milk and put it away with a shrug.

"It's still early." She could feel his eyes on her while she took a seat at the table with her breakfast. She lifted the first spoonful to her mouth but paused, catching the skeptical glare her brother shot her. "What?"

"He's too old for you." James groused, leaning back in his seat until the front legs tipped off of the tile floor.

"I'm just being friendly!" She insisted, adding an exaggerated eye roll for good measure and hoping that the growing warmth in her cheeks hadn't yet become visible. James let out an undignified snort and set the chair back down only to repeat the motion a second later.

"Right." His eyes swept over her before he righted his chair again and returned to his cereal. "I've hardly even seen you all summer, Sofia. You've been too busy following Cedric around like a puppy."

"Have not." She mumbled, sniffing from the slight wound to her pride. "Let's do something today. Just us two." She added when she calmed, admitting to herself that she honestly hadn't spent much time with him lately, and missed hanging out with him.

"We could go catch frogs." He offered, brightening a bit at the idea. Sofia nodded while crunching on her cereal. It was a better idea than any she had, so frog catching it was.

...

Before they left, she checked the calendar on the wall near the fridge, making a note of how many days there were between now and the date circled in red marker.

"Mom and Amber will be back in a week." She pointed out, and James came up behind her to see for himself.

"Great, it's gonna get noisy again." He groused, but Sofia swatted at him playfully.

"Don't pretend you don't miss her." She scolded. "It's weird around here without them."

"Weirder for you, since you had your own room all summer." He stretched, then lifted the top page of the calendar. "Your birthday isn't circled, yet." Before she could respond, he trotted off to the junk drawer and grabbed the marker, uncapping it with his teeth.

"I don't care that much." He ignored her and circled October 9th with a flourish, adding a smiley face in the middle of the white box.

Her mother was planning to make a bigger deal out of her birthday than she would have liked, hampering her excitement for the event. There'd be a fancy gown, and dancing, and dozens of bizarre 'traditions'. What Sofia would have preferred was a Halloween themed party, with everyone in costume, and just the regular cake and ice cream. She couldn't say as much, though, because Miranda was so thrilled about the whole thing, and she didn't want to hurt her mother's feelings.

"Come on, Sofia." James dragged her out of her thoughts, grabbing her by the hand and tugging her toward the back door.

They raced through the field behind the house and down the worn path to the creek, the same one where she and Cedric went swimming just the day before, though they were in a different section. Here, it was shallow enough to wade in the water without getting your shorts wet. James kicked his sandals off and went in first. Sofia, already barefoot as she usually was in summer, trailed after him, making it a point to leave her thoughts behind her, on the muddy bank, and simply enjoy chasing after bullfrogs with her brother.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note:** This was an interesting chapter, because I really had to consider what Cedric's life would be like if his background was basically the same, but he didn't have a tower to hide out in or a title to stick around for. And I think, he probably wouldn't feel comfortable anywhere, and maybe he'd just keep looking for somewhere to call home, so that's what I wrote.

Also, I hope to use his band mates again some point later on, so they can start to feel more like the versions we know. I wouldn't say they're OOC, because I feel like this is them younger than we see on the show, but still...

And I am so not a song writer. I have this idea in my head of how Cedric's songs _sound_ but writing them just kills me. :P

 _And no one was gonna come and get me_  
 _There wasn't anybody gonna know_  
 _Even though I leave a trail of burned things in my wake_  
 _Every single place I go_

 _In Corolla - Mountain Goats_

* * *

"This place is such a shithole! Why are you still hiding out here?" Cedric rolled his eyes as he marched to the back of the room, taking up the acoustic guitar and lifting the strap over his head.

"Don't be stupid, Gary. Why else would he be here?" A second voice called out from behind him, accompanied by the sound of the door shutting. "Why does Cedric ever stay anywhere for more than a few days? There's a girl, of course."

"Number one, don't call me that! I told you, it's Greylock." The first man argued, running a hand through his short, sandy hair. Greylock had to be the single dumbest stage name in history, but Cedric didn't voice his opinion on the matter. "And second... seriously? Not another one." He shook his head in disapproval as he turned his focus to Cedric.

"There's no girl." He insisted, trying to ignore them to tune the instrument. "Besides, I'm leaving soon."

"Oh, so there _was_ a girl, and you blew it already." He shot an annoyed glare at the both of them and took a seat on the battered sofa, the only decent place to sit down in the hired practice space, which was technically the basement of the town's only law office. It had a separate entrance, a concrete staircase that led directly downstairs, and there was no one upstairs on the weekends, so it really was the best he could have hoped for, despite being drab and depressing, with a complete lack of air conditioning to counteract the insane heat outside.

"I'm telling you, there is _no_ girl." He bit out, trying to end the discussion quickly. He'd been doing his best not to think about her for days now, and the last thing he wanted was for them to come in here and dredge everything up again.

"See. The more he denies it, the more obvious it is." The drummer, Billy Grimtrix, though everyone simply called him by his last name, gestured to Cedric, and Greylock shook his head. He went back to ignoring them, playing familiar chords on the guitar in a vain effort to drown them out.

"Nah, I think he's just still moping over that Morgan chick." Cedric struck a sour note, sorely missing his mark, and frowned at his lack of concentration.

"Can we not talk about that?" He questioned, returning to his song.

It didn't escape him that he'd nearly forgotten all about her over the course of the summer, and as much as he hated to admit it, the fact could most likely be attributed to a certain young redhead that he was definitely not falling for. With a groan, he leaned back and dug his beaten up notebook out of his jeans pocket, flipping through it for even the slightest scrap of inspiration as the other two made sarcastic remarks and set up the drum kit.

"Where are you going after this?" Greylock asked when they were finished with the drums, sinking into the low cushion beside him and producing a red and white pack of cigarettes, which he offered to Cedric.

"Haven't decided yet." He shrugged, accepting one and the bic lighter that followed. "Anywhere but here, I guess."

 _Anywhere but here._ It seemed to be his motto. Wherever he went, whatever he found there, he always ended up longing to be someplace else. Since the day he left home, his life had become a montage of highways and rathole motels. It would have been nice to put down roots, for once, but he ruined any chance for it on that day at the creek.

If he were being honest with himself, which he was trying hard not to be, he might admit that he was scared. He was terrified of Sofia, or rather the way she made him feel when he was with her. He was selfish and greedy, and he'd never exactly been a model of self-control, which is what it would require to stick around without doing something that would be both immoral and illegal. So, that was it, he was done with this town. Time to move on to another place, and then another, and so on. He'd get back on the highway and pretend he liked things better when it was just him and his bike, until he found somewhere else to hole up for a while. The concept never seemed quite so lonely before.

"Just come back to New York. Driving across the country for your ass is getting real old." Grimtrix griped as he took a seat at the drums, but Cedric shook his head.

"Hard pass." He hissed out, the words accompanied by a plume of smoke. " _He's_ in New York." His band mates exchanged knowing looks.

"So is your mother. She calls me at least once a week, you know." Greylock countered, standing to grab his own guitar. "She's worried about you."

"She has Cordy to fret over." He replied bitterly, taking another slow hit off the cigarette and lolling his head onto the back of the couch.

"You could at least give her your number so she can call you, instead." Greylock suggested, but Cedric merely chuckled. "At this point I have a better relationship with your mom than you do."

"Phone doesn't work out here." It was an excuse. He could get a half decent signal so long as he didn't stray to the outskirts of town, and his motel room had a perfectly serviceable phone in it, but they didn't need to know that.

The truth was that if it was just his mother, he would be happy to pass along a way to contact him. He couldn't imagine that she wouldn't share the information with her husband, though, so he hadn't spoken to her in a couple years even though he adored the woman. _Leaving people behind is just a part of life._

He tossed the cigarette onto the concrete floor and stubbed in out with his boot, positioning his fingers on the guitar again. He played the same four chords that he had a tendancy to default to when he was working on a new song, to the point where his band mates liked to tease him about it.

 _Taste of copper, murk_ _y water_

 _Drowning in cloudless eyes_

 _I will gladly destroy us both_

 _If only you'd let me try_

Greylock shrugged and joined in, but Grimtrix simply shot Cedric a smug glance from across the room, taking the words for what they were - confirmation that he'd been right.

 _I'm moving on_

 _No time to say goodbye_

 _I'm already gone_

 _Won't let you pay my price_

 _Please forget my name,_

 _Lose the details of my face_

 _Forget that day spent in the water_

 _When I tried to steal your grace_


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note:** Ah, back together. At least, for this chapter. And... We find out how old one of them actually is.

 _I'm gonna leave you anyway_

 _I'm gonna leave you anyway_

 _I'm gonna leave you anyway_

 _You're gonna walk right out that door_

 _You're gonna walk right out that door_

 _I'm gonna watch you walk away_

 _7.30am by Slothrust_

* * *

Cedric stuffed a wadded up pile of shirts into his backpack, glad that he never bothered to own more than he could carry. He needed to get out of this stupid town. To put as much distance between himself and Sofia as he possibly could, for the girl's own sake.

After the incident at the creek, he decided that he would never see her again, and putting hundreds of miles between himself and Sofia was the only way to be certain he could make good on that. His phone buzzed in his pocket, had been buzzing for days, but he paid it no mind.

Zipping the packed bag, he slung it over his shoulder and marched across the small room. When he threw open the door, she was standing there, her hand poised and ready to knock. The other one was hidden suspiciously behind her back.

"Hi!" She chirped, waving to him happily.

"Why are you here?" He quizzed as soon as he recovered from the shock of seeing her, dropping the bag to the floor between the door and the wall.

"My dad sent me." She explained. "Oh, he thought maybe you were sick or something, so I brought you this."

She produced a can of chicken soup and held it out to him with an eager grin, and it was all he could do not to laugh at the gift. _An actual can... She really is a child._

"Your father sent you?" He parroted, and she replied with a single word that sounded like a cross between 'yeah' and 'uh-huh'.

Cedric accepted the can awkwardly, wondering at what Roland could possibly be thinking, sending his underaged daughter to a twenty-six year old man's cheap motel room by herself. Her eyes left him to scan the drab interior and though what he really wanted to do was close the door and lock her out, of both his room and his life, he kicked the door further open and left it like that while he went back inside and shoved the soup in one of the drawers of the provided dresser.

She sat on the bed, of course, because the cruel joke that was his life wouldn't allow for her to simply leave, or at the very least sit in the chair.

"I finished the engine I was working on, so your dad shouldn't need me for anything." He informed her, disappearing into the bathroom to take one of his nearly abandoned beers out of the toilet tank, the only way to keep the drinks cold since the room didn't come with any sort of mini-fridge. "He'll manage just fine without me. I haven't even been working for him all that long."

"Don't you want to keep working for him?" Her voice carried from the next room, and he popped the metal tab up, taking a swig before he returned to the main room.

"I only did it because I needed the money." He shrugged, leaning against the dresser because he was definitely not going to sit on the bed next to her and the chair was fairly uncomfortable. He watched her over the rim of his beer, trying not to put too much thought into her disappointed expression.

It wasn't exactly true. Even though they didn't always see eye-to-eye, he'd tolerated much worse jobs, and working with his hands all day felt pretty satisfying. If it weren't for Sofia, he would probably be willing to stay with King's Auto Repair for a while longer. Even the town had grown on him somewhat, and he was just beginning to remember his way around, a novelty for a man who never stayed put.

"Oh... And you don't anymore?" She asked quietly, becoming overly interested in the fringe that hung from her cutoff shorts.

"I have enough to get me out of town, so-" Even in the barely existent lighting, her eyes flashed as she gaped up at him in shock.

"You're leaving?" She demanded, and somehow he managed to nod. He took another lazy slurp of beer, finding something that could pass for a decent response.

"This was never permanent. I just needed some time to myself, you know." He hadn't meant to upset Sofia, obviously. If anything this was exactly the sort of situation he was trying to avoid by getting away from her. "I've never been the type to settle down, Princess."

"But my birthday's coming up..." She leaned back, tugging a mangled card envelope, the same bright blue as her eyes, from her front pocket and staring down at it dejectedly. "I was going to invite you."

"Save it. Find some boy your own age and ask him to go." Cedric waved a dismissive hand in her direction, then rattled the can in an attempt to gauge how much liquid was left inside. "Who knows, maybe you'll get yourself a boyfriend."

"But I wanted you there." She mumbled so quietly that he could hardly make out the words.

"Why would I want to go to a kiddie party?" He kept his features neutral, but inside he cringed at the question. "Do you know how boring that would be for me?"

He didn't want to hurt this girl. If anything, he possessed a rather unsettling desire to make her insanely happy, to keep that adorable grin on her face until her cheeks ached from it. If she were older... No, that wasn't true. Her age aside, he had no idea how to make someone else happy. He spread nothing but misery and resentment wherever he went, always had. His father, his sister, the long string of ex-girlfriends who'd been unfortunate enough to give him a shot over the years. Everything he touched eventually fell to ruin, and even if she was old enough for him, he would still do everything within his power to shield her from that fate.

Before he had a chance to say anything else, she threw the envelope on his bed and fled the room. _Good. Run back home to your daddy, little girl. Go swim in your creek and play your guitar. Just... stay the hell away from me before I destroy you, too._


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note:** In which Cedric finds out how old Sofia really is...

 _you've got what i need, but i can't have it._

 _that's alright._

 _you're everything i want and i can't touch you._

 _let me touch you anyhow._

 _i'm going where the air is hot._

 _~ Going to Brazil by the Mountain Goats_

* * *

He was laying in bed, but sleep seemed well out of his grasp as he stared up at the yellowing popcorn ceiling, rehashing the last conversation he had with Sofia in an endless loop, his brain supplying useless suggestions of things he should have said, or better yet shouldn't have, as if sleepless nights filled with remorse could somehow erase the damage. He'd been reliving the scene every night for over a week, and frankly he was getting sick of it.

His eyes flickered to the as of yet unopened envelope, and with a frustrated groan, he yanked the chain for the small lamp behind it, summoning just enough light to read by. He propped himself up against the composite wood of the headboard and lifted the invitation, tearing the top open and sliding the battered card out.

He would have laughed at the image of a tiara on the cover, given his own nickname for the girl, but he was too busy staring in wide-eyed mortification at the number prominently displayed next to it.

Not only had she lied to him when they met, that much he already knew, but she had stretched the truth by far more than he ever suspected. _She's turning fifteen!_ He dropped the card onto the mattress to rub his face aggressively, then picked it up again. Unfortunately, he hadn't misread it, because the cover still made the same shocking claim.

 _Help us celebrate Sofia's Quinceañera._ The inside instructed, followed by details of where and when the event would be held. Three weeks. He had three weeks to decide between getting as far away as humanly possible or attending Sofia's birthday party.

 _Her fifteenth birthday party._ He shouldn't even be considering it. If he had any sense, he would already be making a break for his motorbike, but he didn't, so he wasn't. She wanted him there, or at least she had before he shot her down. It wouldn't be too terrible to hang around for three more weeks, assuming she still had any interest in his attending the party. He could always leave after that, the very next day, even. Besides, knowing how young she really was would make it all the easier to stop the growing feelings metastasizing inside.

He placed the card and torn envelope back on the nightstand and returned to his inner dialogue, this time trying to imagine how he might go about apologizing to the girl, something that didn't exactly come naturally to him.

At some point in the night, he must have finally drifted off, because when he opened his eyes again the sun was out. He felt around for his cellphone then clicked on the screen, astonished to learn it was already 12.30. _It's now or never._ He steeled himself, dragging his weary body out of bed.

Once he was outside, squinting at the sudden shift in brightness, he hopped on his motorbike and took off for Sofia's house.

"You're back!" Roland called out as Cedric turned up the driveway. "Sofia thought you left town." Cedric climbed off the bike and made his way up the path to stand in front of the porch.

"I changed my mind." He muttered lamely, glancing past the older man to the screen door, where he expected to find the girl peeking out.

"Good. I've been kind of swamped lately." Roland stood and stepped down so he was face to face with Cedric. "My mechanic up and left with no warning, after all."

It would seem he still had a job, and he supposed he should be glad to hear it, but that wasn't why he came. He eyed Sofia's father, wondering if there was a decent way to ask after his daughter without revealing that they'd fought or sounding like some sort of creep. Unable to come up with any, he checked the screen door one more time and suppressed a sigh, then followed Roland to the garage.

...

Cedric recognized the sound of her giggling, and ducked his head out from under the hood of the beaten up powdered blue Corolla he was working on, despite severe doubts the thing would ever run again.

He ambled his way out of the garage and leaned against the structure, watching with feigned indifference as James marched toward the house, carrying his sister on his shoulders. _Are siblings usually this close?_ He couldn't imagine ever giving Cordelia piggy-back rides, or spinning her around while she squealed with glee, like he'd seen James do the first time he met the boy. That said, he was also painfully aware that his family had given him a somewhat skewed sense of what was 'normal'.

"Cedric?" Sofia cried out, flailing until her brother set her down. James met his eye as the girl ran toward him, and made no attempt to hide his displeasure at Cedric's return. "What are you doing here?"

He broke the eye contact to glance down at Sofia. "Working, obviously." He informed her, accenting the statement with a gesture toward the garage. "Hey, um..." He paused, waiting for the door to close behind her brother as he went inside.

"Yes?" Sofia prodded, cocking her head to plant herself back into his line of vision.

God, he'd missed those wide, bright eyes, the striking contrast of copper lashes and sparkling turquoise. He shouldn't have, but it couldn't be helped. _She's fourteen. You can never be anything to her, except the guy that sometimes works for her dad._ He reminded himself as he sucked in a deep breath, wishing there was room behind him to scoot backwards so he could regain some personal space.

"Your party." He began, and she stared down at her uncovered feet, shuffling them across the dry, dusty grass. "I changed my mind. If you still want me there, that is."

She clearly wasn't expecting this, because she tipped her head up to him and grinned widely. Then, she did something he wasn't at all prepared for. She propelled herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his chest. "Of course you can come!" She murmured against him.

"I'm covered in grease, princess." He protested, holding his hands out helplessly because they were too dirty for him to pry the girl off with, unless he wanted to explain to Roland why his handprints were on his teenaged daughter, which he decidedly did not. She stumbled back, ducking her head sheepishly. "I-I have to get back to work."

"Can I get you anything?" She chirped, shadowing him back inside.

"Yeah. Go grab me a beer, would you?" He eyed her retreating form as she eagerly ran back to the house, wondering how he could have fooled himself into thinking that staying three more weeks was anything but the worst idea he'd ever had. _I really am an idiot_.


End file.
